Genizah of sacred writings
[A] (Halacha 303)
Question: What is done with Sifrei Torah that have worn out or become pasul?
Answer: The Gemara in Maseches Megillah1: 'Rava said: a Sefer Torah that has worn out is stored away beside a talmid chacham, and even one who merely teaches halachos. Rav Acha bar Yaakov said: and in an earthenware vessel, as it is stated ונתתם בכלי חרש למען יעמדו ימים רבים ("and you shall place them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last many days")2'.
And the Rambam wrote3: 'A Sefer Torah that has worn out or become pasul is placed in an earthenware vessel and buried beside talmidei chachamim, and this is its genizah'. That is, the Rambam equated a Sefer Torah that became pasul with a Sefer Torah that wore out.
This halacha was brought in the Shulchan Aruch twice: the first time in OC4: 'A Sefer Torah that has worn out is placed in an earthenware vessel and stored away in the grave of a talmid chacham, even if he is only one who teaches halachos and did not attend upon a talmid chacham'. The second time in YD5: 'A Sefer Torah that has worn out or become pasul is placed in an earthenware vessel and buried beside a talmid chacham, and this is its genizah'6.
If so, we have seen that there is a special law in the genizah of a Sefer Torah, that they are to be placed in an earthenware vessel, and to bury them beside talmidei chachamim7.
[With Hashem's help, in another halacha we will discuss whether it is permitted to leave pasul Sifrei Torah in the aron hakodesh]
Question: Is this law unique only to a Sefer Torah?
Answer: The Be'er Sheva wrote8: 'The Rambam z"l wrote explicitly in chapter 5 of Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah that holy writings that have worn out require genizah, and I have already proven that this applies even to holy writings of matters that are Oral Torah, as mentioned above. And if so, even though the Rambam z"l left unspecified how the law of their genizah works, let the unspecified be learned from the explicit elsewhere, as in the words of the Rambam z"l who wrote the law of the genizah of a Sefer Torah at the end of Hilchos Sefer Torah, as mentioned above in the Gemara in Perek Bnei HaIr, see there'. And so too wrote the Magen Avraham9: 'A Sefer Torah that has worn out. And the same applies to seforim'10.
If so, according to the Be'er Sheva and the Magen Avraham, the genizah of the other seforim as well must be in an earthenware vessel.
But the Pri Megadim in the Eshel Avraham commented on the Magen Avraham: 'That which he wrote "seforim", I have not seen people practice so, and perhaps Nevi'im and Kesuvim when they are written on parchment and ink in a scroll, and this requires further study'.
And so too wrote the sefer Zera Emes11: 'Indeed, I have never seen that people are careful about this except with a Sefer Torah that has worn out, but other holy writings that have worn out, the practice is to bury them in cloth sacks, and since such is the minhag of Yisrael, it is upon us to turn and seek out the merit of this minhag, for the minhag of Yisrael is Torah, and if they are not prophets they are the children of prophets. And in truth, after study I have seen clearly that the Rabbanan only instituted genizah and burial in a [earthenware] vessel specifically for a Sefer Torah, since it has greater sanctity than other holy writings, but for other holy writings it is enough to bury them in whatever manner..'.
And regarding tefillin and mezuzos, the Aruch HaShulchan wrote12: 'A Sefer Torah that has worn out, Chazal said there that it is placed in an earthenware vessel and stored away in the grave of a talmid chacham, and so too tefillin and mezuzos'13.
If so, we have seen that many poskim held that not only a Sefer Torah but, at any rate, also tefillin and mezuzos are to be buried like a Sefer Torah in an earthenware vessel that they may last many days. Therefore it is worthwhile to be careful to place tefillin and mezuzos in the genizah designated for them, and not to place them in the regular genizah receptacle, which is not buried in an earthenware vessel like a Sefer Torah
Notes:
1 כו, ב ↩
2 הב"י ביו"ד סי' רפב ד"ה ס"ת שבלה נימק את דברי הגמרא: 'ומה שהצריכו לתתו בכלי חרס הוא כדי שלא ירקב כ"כ במהרה דכל מאי דאפשר לתקוני שיעמוד ימים רבים מתקנינן' ↩
3 הל' ס"ת פ"י ה"ג ↩
4 סי' קנד ס"ה ↩
5 סי' רפב ס"י ↩
6 וראה שו"ת ציץ אליעזר חט"ז סי' לז שביאר באריכות את החילוק בלשון המחבר בב' ההלכות, ובדבריו גם ביאר שכשנפסל ואין ראוי עוד לתיקון (אבל לא בלה הכתוב כולו והגוילים), גונזים אותו בקבר בפ"ע אצל ת"ח' כי קדושתו בתוקפו. ורק כאשר בלה לגמרי אז קוברים אותו ממש בקבר ת"ח ↩
7 הפרמ"ג במשב"ז סי' קנד ס"ק ה כתב: 'ומ"מ בס"ת משמע דווקא בקבר תלמיד חכם אפילו אין שימש תלמידי חכמים, הא בקרקע כך לא, וצ"ע דלא ראיתי נוהגין כן' ↩
8 שו"ת סי' מג ↩
9 או"ח סי' קנד ס"ק ט ↩
10 וראה גם בשו"ת שבות יעקב ח"ג סי' יב שזה הדרך הראוי לכתחילה ושבוודאי היכא דאפשר לגונזן כדין הש"ס בכלי חרס מוקף צמיד פתיל טפי עדיף. ושם בסי' יא דברי הכנסת יחזקאל. וראה שם השקו"ט ביניהם. הובא גם בכנסת יחזקאל סי' לז. וראה גם שו"ת לבושי מרדכי מהדורה רביעאי סימן רלה ↩
11 יו"ד סי' קלג ↩
12 או"ח סי' קנד ס"ח. וראה גם מש"כ ביו"ד סי' רפב סט"ז ↩
13 וכ"כ בשו"ת קנין תורה ח"ג סי' מז: 'ולפ"ז דתפילין ומזוזות בודאי דינן כס"ת'. וראה ג"כ שו"ת שבט הלוי חלק ה סימן קסב. ובתשובות והנהגות כרך ג סימן שכד, וראה גם בגנזי הקודש פרק טו דין א שכ"פ למעשה פוסקי זמנינו. אך ראה אבני ישפה ח"ד סי' טז אות ב ↩
[B] (Halacha 304)
In the previous halacha we saw the words of the Gemara in Megillah1 'Rava said: a Sefer Torah that has worn out is stored away beside a talmid chacham, and even one who merely teaches halachos'. And the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch2: 'A Sefer Torah that has worn out or become pasul is placed in an earthenware vessel and buried beside a talmid chacham, and this is its genizah'.
Question: Is there an obligation to bury the pasul Sefer Torah in the ground?
Answer: The Gemara in Maseches Bava Basra3 says: 'And a Sefer Torah - one reduces a window… A Sefer Torah - it is fit for reading! Where it is worn out. But it requires genizah! There [=in the window] shall be its genizah'. The Gemara discusses reducing the measurement of a window in order to prevent the passage of tumah, and the question is whether, when a Sefer Torah is placed there, it itself reduces the measurement of the window, but there is a condition that the object be placed there permanently, and therefore the Gemara asks that a Sefer Torah is, after all, fit for reading and so they would take it from there; the Gemara answers that we are dealing with a worn-out Sefer Torah, and although it requires genizah, it is possible that the genizah will be there in the window.
From this Gemara it appears that genizah is effective for a Sefer Torah even not in the ground, and even in the form of sealing a window.
But the Ritva there wrote: 'Meaning, until he has the opportunity to bury it properly beside a talmid chacham and the like'. This seemingly implies that this is only a temporary burial, but in the end it must be buried beside a talmid chacham.
On the other hand, the Yad Ramah there wrote: 'There shall be its genizah. For it only lacks being sealed up at its mouth', implying that the genizah there can be permanent, except that one must seal up the place in which it is placed.
And in practice the Acharonim inclined to say that there is no obligation to bury specifically in the ground, but rather it is possible in any safeguarded place, as the Aruch HaShulchan wrote4: 'It appears to my humble opinion that even that which they said to bury a worn-out Sefer Torah in the ground in an earthenware vessel beside the grave of a talmid chacham is not an obligation, for certainly if he has a concealed place to bury it in his home in a chest and the like, or in a beis haknesses, which is better than in the ground; rather, if he has no place to store it away with honor, they permitted him in the ground, as written. And there is one who wrote that this is a strict obligation [per the Pri Megadim5] and it is difficult to say so'.
And so too wrote the Keren LeDavid6: 'And as for the fact that nowadays people do not practice so with a Sefer Torah that became pasul, but rather place them in the aron hakodesh, it appears to me that the reason for the matter is because in the Gemara they only said so regarding a Sefer Torah that has worn out, namely that it is no longer fit for any repair, and a worn-out Sefer Torah is not so common nowadays; rather, it becomes pasul on account of the ink flaking off or letters being blurred, and it cannot be that it will not be fit any longer for any repair, and even if it is no longer fit to be a complete Sefer Torah, at any rate it is fit to take sheets from it for another Sefer Torah; for this reason they instituted not to bury pasul Sifrei Torah in the ground but rather place them in the aron hakodesh, where they too are protected from disgrace.. And although in the Rambam and Tur and Shulchan Aruch YD siman 282 they indeed wrote "a Sefer Torah that has worn out or become pasul is buried etc.", nevertheless one can say so to reconcile the minhag, since in the Gemara only "a Sefer Torah that has worn out" is taught, and one may distinguish between them as written.. But in a case.. of torn pieces and fragments.. we return to the law of the Talmud and Shulchan Aruch to bury them in the ground in an earthenware vessel; except that nevertheless it appears that whole sheets found among them that are still fit to use for another Sefer Torah should not be buried in the ground but rather in the aron hakodesh among the pasul seforim..'.
And in the Igros Moshe7 he wrote: 'Regarding a Sefer Torah that has worn out, when they wish to keep it in an honored place in the beis haknesses, whether they are permitted or whether they must specifically bury it in the ground, you ruled well that there is no flaw when they keep it in an honored place, and perhaps it is even better, as you wrote, for so it should be according to the reasoning of the Ran in Megillah daf 26 amud bes, that the reason they place it in an earthenware vessel is that they make for it whatever provision is possible. And this is simple and clear as is explicit in the Aruch HaShulchan.. and to my humble opinion there is none who disputes this'.
And so too wrote the Tzitz Eliezer8: 'We have been shown to know that before us there is a multitude of authors who likewise stand in the approach of the Aruch HaShulchan, and who testify that in truth such is the practice in deed in very many communities, not to bury them in the ground but to place them in the aron hakodesh together with the kosher ones by placing a sign so that they will recognize that these are pasul. And they also visit them on Simchas Torah for the many hakafos. And this is emphasized also in the Responsa Maharaf siman 47, and the Av Beis Din of the community of Kalov z"l writes regarding this there in these words: "I was a youth and have also aged, and I have not seen a Sefer Torah that has worn out being buried. And on the contrary, they do hakafos with the pasul seforim" see there. For a Sefer Torah remains in its sanctity as long as 85 letters remain in it'.
If so, we have seen that the poskim wrote9 and the minhag that the law of genizah of a Sefer Torah that became pasul is not specifically in the ground.
[With Hashem's help, tomorrow we will discuss the minhag to leave the pasul Sifrei Torah in the aron hakodesh]
Notes:
1 דף כו עמוד ב ↩
2 יו"ד סי' רפב ס"י, וראה גם באו"ח סי' קנד ס"ה ↩
3 כ, א ↩
4 או"ח סי' קנד ס"ח ↩
5 ראה שו"ת אגרות משה או"ח ח"ד סי' לח: 'ותמוה על ערוה"ש שמשמע לו שהפמ"ג סובר דבקרקע בקבר ת"ח עדיף ממקום מכובד בביהכ"נ שליכא זה בפמ"ג, ולכו"ע בביהכ"נ במקום מכובד עדיף'. וראה גם בציץ אליעזר חט"ז סי' לז ↩
6 חאו"ח סי' מ"ד ↩
7 או"ח ח"ד סי' לח ↩
8 שו"ת חט"ז סי' לז ↩
9 אך ראה בציץ אליעזר שם שכתב: 'אולם מאידך אין להתעלם כי ישנה שורה שניה של פוסקים גדולים אחרים שפוסקים כפשטות משמעות פסקם של הרמב"ם והטור והשו"ע, כי צריכים עכ"פ לכתחילה להעדיף לגונזם בקרקע בכ"ח ע"י קבר ת"ח, ובמיוחד היכא שהס"ת כבר בלה, יעוין בספר תורת חיים (סופר) על או"ח סי' קנ"ד סוף סק"ח שכותב שהעיקר לגונזם בכלי חרס בקרקע, וכך סוברים גם בשו"ת מהרא"פ סי' מ"ח, שו"ת חקל יצחק (ספינקא) סי' י"ג, וכמו"כ בשו"ת קרן לדוד שם סובר כן לגבי ס"ת שבלה יעו"ש' ↩
[C] (Halacha 305)
In the previous halacha we saw that the poskim wrote that there is a minhag that a Sefer Torah that became pasul may be placed in a safeguarded place, and not specifically buried in the earth.
Question: Is it permitted to keep a pasul Sefer Torah or sheets from a Sefer Torah in the aron hakodesh1?
Answer: The Sefer Chasidim wrote2: 'Tablets and broken tablets are placed in the ark; if there are Sifrei Torah partly torn and erased, he shall place them with the Sefer Torah in the ark. And if he comes to store away sheets of a Sefer Torah, it is not proper that they be in the ark between the posts upon the sheets, and they should be stored away in another place, lest they be cast aside. And pages of the Oral Torah are stored away with pages of the Written Torah'.
From his words it appears that he permitted placing a pasul Sefer Torah with the kosher Sifrei Torah in the aron hakodesh, except that he distinguished between a whole Sefer Torah that has worn out and sheets.
However, this matter requires explanation, for it is explained in the Gemara3 and ruled in the Shulchan Aruch4: 'A Sefer Torah that is not proofread, it is forbidden to keep it more than thirty days, but rather he shall repair it or store it away'. And if so, how is it permitted to leave the sefer in the ark without storing it away, for in leaving the sefer there is a concern of mishap5.
The Rebbe writes6 that one may say that the reason the Sefer Chasidim was lenient to leave a pasul Sefer Torah in the aron hakodesh is because he spoke of: 'Sifrei Torah partly torn and erased', and then they are 'in a manner in which it is impossible to come to a mishap of reading from them'.
But if so, when it concerns whole Sifrei Torah that require a certain repair, (even when the pesul is recognizable and there is no concern of corruption, yet) since there is in them a concern of a mishap that they will take it out for public reading, seemingly they must be stored away and may not be kept in the aron hakodesh.
For we find that many poskim7 wrote that the prohibition in leaving a sefer that is not proofread is not only out of concern of a mishap of corruption from incorrect reading, but also when it concerns a pesul that will not lead to corruption, such as a letter that became pasul from its kosher form, or the ink faded — even so it is forbidden to keep it when it concerns a sefer that is designated to read from in public, since there is a concern that they will read from it elsewhere and not know that it became pasul.
And indeed the Noda BiYehuda8 commented on the minhag to leave a Sefer Torah in the aron kodesh: 'But it is still forbidden even without this, lest they come to a stumbling block to read from it, for it is explained in YD siman 279 that a Sefer Torah that is not proofread, it is forbidden to keep it more than thirty days, but rather he shall repair it or store it away'.
On the other hand, in the Responsa Binyan Tzion9 he held that the main concern with a sefer that is not proofread is not on account of the concern that they will read from it by mistake in public, and therefore he commented on the words of the Noda BiYehuda: 'Also that which is written in the aforementioned Responsa Noda BiYehuda to forbid on account of the reason lest they read from it, and he brought a proof from what is ruled in the Shulchan Aruch YD that it is forbidden to keep a sefer that is not proofread more than 30 days, but rather he shall repair it or store it away — to my humble opinion this is astonishing, for this law derives from what we say in Kesuvos: it was stated, a sefer that is not proofread, Rabbi Ami said, up to 30 days it is permitted to keep it, from then on it is forbidden, because it is stated אל תשכון באהליך עולה ("let not iniquity dwell in your tents"), see there. Behold it is explicit that the reason is specifically on account of "let not it dwell" — that one not read the errors — but not on account of the reason lest one read from it and consider it kosher. .. Moreover, this has a remedy, that he place the pasul Sifrei Torah in a special place in the aron kodesh, as is the minhag of many communities, and this itself is their genizah; and therefore there is here a concern only on account of the honor of the kosher Sifrei Torah, and for this the reasoning of the Sefer Chasidim is effective, that tablets and broken tablets are placed in the ark.. And therefore that which is practiced in many communities, that they do not store away the Sifrei Torah that have worn out but only place them in the aron kodesh in a special place and take them out on Simchas Torah to increase the hakafah, they have upon whom to rely, the Sefer Chasidim who permitted it'.
If so, according to the Binyan Tzion: a) the main concern with a sefer that is not proofread is not on account of reading from it in public because they will think the sefer is kosher. b) for the concern lest they read from it in public there is a remedy, that he place the pasul Sifrei Torah in a special place in the aron kodesh, as is the minhag of many communities.
The Aruch HaShulchan10 too brought this minhag, and wrote: 'And according to his words, several pasul Sifrei Torah that stand in the aron hakodesh and whose pesul is not recognizable — let us be concerned that they will read from them; and in truth it is customary to make a sign, that they wrap the cloth over the mantle'.
And so too the Minchas Elazar11 wrote: 'And even so, our eyes see also in our times that pasul Sifrei Torah too are placed in the aron kodesh and we do not fear a mishap, perforce because they mark them in several places with the belt over the mantle, not in the manner of the belt of kosher Sifrei Torah where the belt is beneath the mantle; and likewise in places where they do not do this, they set them up against the wall and the like, in a manner that it is certainly known which are the pasul ones, and especially to the chazzan (who is the shamash) who shows the one taking out the Sefer Torah which of them to take out, see there'.
However, the Rebbe there referred to some of the aforementioned poskim, and comments: 'And it still requires study from the explicit ruling in the Shulchan Aruch to forbid'.
If so, in practice the poskim wrote that the minhag is to place the pasul Sifrei Torah in the aron hakodesh in which the kosher seforim are placed, but one must make sure that there be a proper and prominent sign as to which are the pasul seforim, so that no mishap will come to read from these seforim, and especially according to what the Rebbe12 commented, one should conduct oneself with extra care.
Especially in large synagogues one must be careful that no mishap come about through the falling of the belt or the like, and that they come to read from it in public.
-
Notes:
1 הנדון דלקמן הוא לא כלפי קדושת ארון הקודש שנדון במהרש"ל וב"ח (סי' קנג), ובמג"א או"ח סי' קנד ס"ק יד, שכנה"ג הגה"ט או"ח סי' קנג אות ו, נו"ב מהדו"ק - או"ח סי' ט, ושנתנו כמה טעמים להיתר: א) שכאשר גם הס"ת הכשרים שם אי"ז מוריד מקדושת הארון. ב) לב ב"ד מתנה, שהרי כך הרגילות וכאילו התנו. ג) גם הס"ת הפסולים הם פסולים לצורך קריאה, אך עדיין קדושתן עליהם ↩
2 סי' תתקלד ↩
3 כתובות יט, ב ↩
4 יו"ד סי' רעט ס"א ↩
5 אך ראה בשלחן גבוה סי' רעט, א: 'וזהו טעמא דמילתא דכמה ספרים פסולין יש בכמה קהילות ומשהין אותם יותר מל' יום ואינן קוברין אותם דכיון שיש ספרים אחרים כשרים וקורין בהם ובאלו הפסולין אין קורין בהם, אינם עוברים על לאו דאל תשכון כו' דזהו כשאין ס"ת אחר כשר'. ואח"כ כתב 'שהאידנא .. כל העם יש להם חומש בידו .. אפי' יטעה ויקרא בס"ת פסול אינו עובר על לאו דאל תשכון כיון שאין מניחין אותו בטעותו אלא מחזירין אותו ומוציאין ס"ת אחר כשר כנגדו' ↩
6 אג"ק חי"ד עמ' רפד. וחט"ו ע' רפ ↩
7 ראה מאירי כתובות יט, ב. וראה גם בשו"ת רע"א תניינא סי' לו, וראה שו"ת שבט הלוי ח"ח סי' רכה ↩
8 מהדו"ק או"ח סי' ט ↩
9 סי' צז ↩
10 יו"ד סי' רפא ס"ה. (וראה ט"ז ונקוה"כ שם) ↩
11 שו"ת ח"ג סי' נב ↩
12 שכתב שיתכן שזה מנהג שהתחיל שלא ברצון חכמים, והעיר על זה שצ"ע. (וא"כ למרות שבפועל התקבל מנהג זה בעם ישראל, אך עכ"פ צריך להיזהר ולסמן כדי למנוע תקלה) ↩
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